From Passivity to Toxicity : Susceptible followers in a conducive environment

Abstract: The romance of leadership is over. So is the romance of followership. Indeed, followers are notpassive as they used to be considered. The majority of the scholars underline their active rolein the creation of the relationship with the leader. This is why when it comes to toxic leadership;the leader is not the only one to blame. Actually, followers are equally responsible for themaintenance and even the creation of toxicity in an organization context. Padilla et al. (2007)argue that toxic leadership comes from the interaction of a toxic leader, susceptible followersand a conducive environment.This research paper focuses on the interaction of two of these components: susceptiblefollowers and the conducive environment. The aim is to understand the role of the influence ofthe environment on decision making in a first time. Then, how individuals, under pressure whenit comes to decision making are more likely to maintain or foster toxicity.After a deep digging into the psychological and sociological mechanisms which are at the basisof the following process, this paper ends by a reflection on human being’s relation withfreedom.